Are high-rollers immune to Covid-19? Guess so. They’re the only ones who’ll be allowed to play craps when Wynncore and Encore Boston Harbor reopen. Truth to tell, blowing on dice seems kind of creepy in the 
age of Coronavirus, even if you don’t mind rubbing elbows with other shooters. Poker is out altogether. At least for now. “We don’t in any way want to do anything we can’t execute as safely as possible,” explained Encore President Brian Gullbrants. He won’t have to worry about it until June 1 (possibly longer) but it’s good to know that Wynn Resorts has these considerations at the top of mind. Besides, poker being small potatoes from a revenue standpoint, it’s one thing from which casinos abstain without fearing substantial financial damage. What does Gullbrants have to worry about? Getting high rollers to play at Encore, where expectations of $50 table minimums proved a serious overestimation of the market.
* Early reports of casino reopenings in Louisiana have players stampeding back to the gambling houses, including some making the traditional commute from Houston to Lake Charles. One player, Shirley Martinez, brought her 85-year-old, slot-jonesing mother—but also had masks and 
sanitizer on board. Good thinking. Said American Gaming Association President Bill Miller, “The experience is going to be different for some period of time, appropriately, but I think that the industry will get its swagger back.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “revenues [at L’Auberge Baton Rouge] actually exceeded an average Monday, though it isn’t clear whether that will continue through the week.”
Still, punters were glad to wait in line outside the casino, as many as 95 a time, for an opportunity to take their chances, even if it means undergoing a temperature check upon entering. Missing out on the fun was Harrah’s New Orleans, which Big Easy Mayor LaToya Cantrell is keeping under lockdown, her spokesman saying, “A casino is considered high-risk in terms of contact intensity, volume, and potential for visitors congregating in large groups and presents significant challenges in mitigation.”
Heck, reopening casinos was the best thing that ever happened for most of the ones in South Dakota, which drew players from as far away as New York and Florida, desperate for a fiddle. You can pick any slot you 
want and then S.D. casino operators will remove the adjoining ones from use. Explained Deadwood Mayor David Ruth, “The last thing an operator wants to do is accidentally take out someone’s favorite machine.” Retail spending having tanked in recent weeks, the big question for casinos is not so much would they retain their appeal but how much Joe Blow has squirreled away for his gaming budget. The early auguries are favorable, to say the least.
* It was good news/bad news for Pennsylvania last month. The good news is that Internet-casino play is way, way up (to $43 million). The bad news, of course, is that sports betting took it in the shorts: $46 million in handle compared to an expected $350 million. Even in pandemic-truncated 
March, handle managed to reach $131 million. Last month, sports books eked out $3 million in revenue. “The momentum that brought records month after month for Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks has been reversed almost instantly,” said industry analyst Valerie Cross. “Until sports leagues figure out a way to reopen, these dreary results will continue.” In terms of handle, FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Resort Casino continued to lead the state with $19 million, followed by DraftKings at The Meadows ($12.5 million), Rivers Casino Philadelphia ($6 million), Fox Bet at Mount Airy ($4 million), Rivers Casino Pittsburgh ($2.5 million) and Parx Casino ($2 million).
* In another sign of the times, Summerlin‘s Patriotic Parade will go online-only this year. An event which normally draws 400,000 spectators will be streamed in what is described as “an innovative, fun and safe way … the virtual parade will still include the small-town spirit and big-city pageantry of the annual parade, but in a different format. Said The Summerlin Council‘s executive director, Lezlie Barnson-DeNardin, “We plan to include a number of the same community groups and organizations that participate in the parade, but in a virtual way.” Hey, at least Fourth of July fireworks are best appreciated at a distance.
Point-counterpoint: “It just seems like there’s a lot of bureaucrats making decisions that are under no economic stress themselves.”—Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst/“What I hope most of all is that consumer confidence in a group setting can be restored. I’d rather this and wait than have gyms reopen unsuccessfully and have to close and then reopen a month later and everyone is scared to go.”—The Handle Bar owner Jeff Fracalossi
